Young played semi-probaseball and was a lightweightwrestler in his youth. He also he promoted amateur and semi-pro boxing matches in Hammond. His greatest love was horse racing; Doc owned a stable of horses and spent several years making the circuit of the leading race tracks. He founded a company called A.A. Young Laboratories that developed a vitamin-calcium supplement for thoroughbreds called Min-O-Lac. Doc became a supporter of professional football in Indiana. He served as team doctor and trainer for the Hammond Clabby Athletic Club during the 1915-17 period. In 1919, promoter Paul Parduhn established the Hammond Pros for the purpose of competing against the Decatur Staleys and Canton Bulldogs. The team played its home games in Cub Park, and one of its stars was George Halas. It is likely that Dr. Young was a part owner of the franchise. In 1919 the Pros lost many of their high-priced players. Many of these players later appeared for the Chicago Tigers. This caused Young to field a new team, but one with fewer stars.
On September 17, 1920, Dr. Young represented Hammond at a meeting of the nation's leading pro football team managers held in Canton, Ohio, for the purpose of creating the American Professional Football Association. Dr. Young's Hammond Pros were charter members of the organization and played in the league from 1920-26. They played three league opponents in 1920 and lost all three games by big scores. In addition to games, Doc attended the league meetings. In Green Bay, Young got into an argument with Curly Lambeau over the kind of football the league would use. The Spalding J-5 was watermelon-shaped and perfect for drop kicks. However Lambeau wanted to use a thinner ball better-suited for passing, probably since he was the top passer of his day.
Race and the NFL
In the 1940s, Fritz Pollard alleged that several of the NFL's owners attempted to raise the issue of a color barrier in pro football. According to Pollard, Young as well as Frank Nied and Art Ranney of the Akron Pros refused to allow the discussion to take place. They could not understand why a player could not be considered a player without his color being brought into account. Many outstanding black stars such as Pollard, Ink Williams, John Shelbourne, and Sol Butler appeared with the team during its years in the league.
End of Pros
After Red Grange'sAmerican Football League folded, the NFL pushed most of its small town and traveling teams out of the league. This ended the Akron Indians, Canton Bulldogs, and Hammond. Indiana would not have another NFL team until the Indianapolis Colts would arrive from Baltimore in 1984. Meanwhile, Young continued to practice medicine on both people and horses. He died of pneumonia while working late, attending a sick horse in the summer of 1942.
